


Have This Dance

by HoodieHeda



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Dancing, F/F, First Dingle Do, Published fashionably late in the day, VanityFest Day One
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-28 06:32:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16236131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoodieHeda/pseuds/HoodieHeda
Summary: Fic for Day 1 of VanityFest. Vanessa's first Dingle Do at the wedding as Charity's plus-one, because the show robbed us of the slowdance we deserved.





	Have This Dance

“Wow, Robert dances worse than you babe,” Charity muttered as she eyed him over Vanessa’s shoulder, “I mean, if Aaron saw him like this before he proposed he’d have pegged it in the other direction.” She felt Vanessa pinch her shoulder and looked down at her girlfriend, “What? He dances like Zak after a few whiskeys, that hip movement is fucking  _ tragic _ \-  _ ow-” _ She winced as another pinch interrupted her sentence and stared down into blue eyes, feigning offense.

 

Vanessa was glaring up at her, but her arms remained tight around her shoulders and the way her fingers played with her hair gave the game away a little. Still, Vanessa made an admirable attempt at annoyance, “It’s his  _ wedding, _ leave him alone Charity.”

 

“Hmmm,” Charity bit her lip a little, pulling Vanessa closer to her with firm hands on the small of her back, “what do I get if I do?” She smiled as Vanessa’s body moved closer into line with hers, feeling the heat of their bodies as their hips pressed together.

 

Vanessa looked up at her through her lashes and Charity’s breath hitched, caught in her throat as she stared back. She still couldn’t believe this woman loved her back, didn’t know what she’d done to deserve her. Vanessa pressed a quick kiss to her chin, “Well, you get to dance with me all night,  _ obviously.” _ She grinned like she hadn’t just stunned Charity into silence.

 

Charity swallowed past the lump in her throat;  _ ugh,  _ all this  _ wedding _ stuff was making her soppy. “Not in these flamin’ shoes I won’t be - like wearing bloody bear traps on my feet.” Vanessa rolled her eyes at the drama in her tone but her gaze was fond, “Besides, we’ve established you’re a  _ terrible _ dancer already… gonna need to tempt me a little more there babe.” The gaze was less fond and more exasperated by the time she was finished speaking, and she smoothed a kiss over the tiny frown lines that appeared between Vanessa’s eyebrows.

 

Vanessa hummed at the touch. Closed her eyes briefly before looking back up at her, “You can’t just kiss me and expect me to ignore the fact that you insulted my dancing, you know.”

 

“Mhmm, really?” Charitys eyebrows were high on her forehead, the picture of disbelief, as she kissed her gently again, sweetly on the lips this time. “I don’t know babe, seems to be working brilliantly right about now.”

 

Vanessa huffed out a short breath but she was smiling around it. She leaned up to kiss her again, just as softly, before moving to rest her head on Charity’s shoulder. Charity could feel her skin tingle where Vanessa’s breath hit the skin on her neck and pressed her lips to the top of her head to hide her smile.

 

“As far as first Dingle Do’s go, you know how to pick ‘em.” She murmured against soft hair, spinning them slowly to the music, “No fights, no surprise siblings, no coppers-”

 

“There’s time yet.” It was low, when Vanessa spoke, but had a decided tone of amusement to it.

 

Charity laughed under her breath, knew Vanessa heard her as she felt her shake with an unmistakable giggle against her. “Well, normally I’d agree but  _ I’m _ usually the cause of half the fun, and  _ someone  _ has been keeping me on my best behaviour recently.”

 

Vanessa looked up at her, “They sound smart, maybe you should listen to them more often.”

 

Charity scrunched up her nose, “Eh, she’s smart enough… mostly keep her around for her rockin’ bod though.” She laughed at the scandalised expression on Vanessa’s face, “Besides, she’s  _ bossy.” _

 

Vanessa moved back to her refuge in the crook of Charity’s neck, lips resting on the skin there. Charity fought a shiver as she spoke, the movement sending little sparks of warmth across her skin and into her bones, “You like me bossy... “

 

“Maybe a little,” Charity let the sentence rest there, tapping her fingers against the dip at the bottom of Vanessa’s spine as she surveyed the room. Robert and Aaron were at the centre of it all and her cousin looked blissfully happy, laughing with his new husband and while she may never love Robert, never forgive him for what he did, she could put on her most enthusiastic smile. For Aaron’s sake, if nothing else. Paddy and Chas were hovering in the corner of the room, wearing their bravest smiles but they were strained at the edges. Chas’ eyes were hollow and Paddy looked a moment away from frantic, clutching his champagne glass like a lifeline. Charity sighed, “It’s a good distraction, I’ll give it that.”

 

“Hmm?” Charity felt more than she heard Vanessa as she hummed against her in question, “What is?”

 

Charity flexed her fingers, pulled a little at the fabric on Vanessa’s waist, “The wedding. I know it’s not what you want a wedding to be but… Chas needs all of us around her right now, and the Dingles are there for family.”

 

“Are they?” Vanessa had pulled away from her shoulder, a familiar hard edge to her jaw now and Charity  _ knew _ she was ticked off. Had a good suspicion as to why as well. “Are they really?”

 

Charity sighed, not ready to have this discussion again, not here, and  _ especially _ not with Chas in such a bad place right now. “Babe, it’s- it’s done now, I’ve moved past it-”

 

“I haven’t though, Charity.” Vanessa’s eyes were blazing, and it warmed Charity’s stomach, set her chest burning with the knowledge that it was anger  _ for  _ her, in her  _ defense. _ “You needed them and they didn’t have the time to stop and support you-”

 

“Chas was-”

 

“Chas was in a bad place but so were you, and at the very least you cared for her wellbeing.” Vanessa’s nose was twitching with her irritation and she smiled - briefly, reluctantly - as Charity pressed a placating kiss to it. She sighed up at Charity, “I feel awful for her, I do, and I’ll support her with everything she needs but I can’t  _ forgive _ her Charity. Nor the rest of them, for that matter.” Her face was set, a determined frown etched into her features and Charity had the sudden urge to kiss it away.

 

Instead, she let her hand smooth up and down Vanessa’s back, sweeping long and low before moving to press soothingly between her shoulder-blades. Vanessa’s eyes fluttered a little as Charity’s fingers worked a knot there, just next to her spine. She moved her mouth back close to Vanessa, lips near her ear, “You don’t have to fight everyone who ever did me wrong, you know?”

 

Vanessa huffed but she was melting against her again, and soon Charity had her swaying to the music again, a tiny tempest calmed in her arms. She sounded almost petulant when she spoke next, arms firm around Charity’s neck and pulling her closer, “I know, and it’s not that I don’t think you can handle it but…” her voice trailed off, became softer, “you shouldn’t have to handle it all yourself.”

 

Charity pressed a quick kiss to her neck, just below her ear. Sighs. “...Love you.” It was mumbled and rough but audible all the same.

 

She felt Vanessa smile against her neck and couldn’t fight her smile in response, didn’t want to. “You may have mentioned that, yeah.”

 

“Cocky beggar,” Charity murmured, “And I love that you’re in my corner,  _ really _ , but this one is a fight I don’t really want to win, babe. Forgive and forget, all that tosh.”

 

Vanessa huffed a laugh against her, “Err, who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?”

 

Charity rolled her eyes, “I _know,_ _God,_ I bet I almost sounded like a mature adult an’ all. You must be rubbing off on me-”

 

“ _ Ooh err.” _ Charity pinched Vanessa in the side for the interruption, grin pulling at her lips as she watched Vanessa squirm away.

 

“Anyway, I think we’ve had enough drama for a lifetime recently without adding a feud with half my family members to the mix.” Charity reasoned, smiling when Vanessa reluctantly agreed with a slight shrug. They swayed for another minute or so until the music changed to become more upbeat, and Charity was itching to lighten the mood. “ _ So, _ about you  _ rubbing off _ on me...” She trailed off, waggling her eyebrows until Vanessa laughed.

 

They were interrupted as Charity went staggering forward, having caught an elbow in the back. Vanessa steadied her and she turned to find Robert shuffling past them,  _ dancing like no-one is watching,  _ Charity thought,  _ I bloody wish I wasn’t. _

 

Vanessa was watching him go with a frown, “I… I see it now.” She nodded absentmindedly, squinting and tilting her head a little, “If Zak was lanky, blonde and 9 pints in-”

 

“ _ See!  _ Told you.” Charity’s smile was victorious.

 

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you insulting my dancing,” Vanessa feigned annoyance, eyebrows high on her forehead, “because I haven’t.”

 

“Oh babe, don’t take it seriously.” Charity swept her closer again, grinning at the hitch in Vanessa’s breathing as her hands slid down to her waist, “You just didn’t have the right dance partner.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So I'm kind of nervous about this one, simply because with work I haven't had the time to edit it and my perfectionism is screaming at me. I know we have some spectacular writers in this fandom, but once you've finished re-reading their work (for the fifth time), maybe leave a comment (both here and on their work)? Thanks, I hope you enjoyed :)


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